Island



J. LAWSON.

AUTOMATIC TENSION CONTROLLING MEANS FOR KNITTING MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED MAIL 2. 191-4,

1 ,424,()25 Patented'July 25, 1922.

llill lll llilmmm lllilli unrrso STA.TES

PATENT orrrcs.

JOHN awson, or CENTRAL FALLS, nnonn I LAND, ASSIGNOB, BY missus ASSIGN- Mrm'rs, TO B RATION or massacnuss'r'rs.

AUTOMATIC TENSION-CONTROLLING mITsfisfiYfifi r rinG arrears.

Application filed March 2,

T 0 all whom it may concern:

lie it known that I. JonN Lawson, a citizen of the United States, residing at Central Falls. in the county of Providence and State of Rhode island, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Tension-Controlling Means for Knitting Machines, of which the following is a speciti cation.

This invention relates more particularly to hosier knitting-machines of the full automatic type. an example of which is disclosed in II. S. Patent No. 933.443. issued to .IV I). llemphill, Sept. 7th. 1909.

The i|!l|)l()\tlllt l'lt forming the subject of thc present application for patent resides in new and improved means for automatically controlling in an independent manner the degree of tension and slack of each of a plurality of-knitting-threads. In other words, the object of the invention is to. provide a knitting-machine with a plurality of adjustabl'c independently arranged devices, one for each knitting-thread. adapted to become one chanirally operable at certain re-arranged parts in the production of tie stocking. whereby the normal tension on the active knit-tingthreads is automatically relieved when the threads are inactive.

The invention includes in its construction a series of suitably arranged and timed inde pendently controlled cams (one cam for each knitting-thread), a corresponding series of spring-pressed members. each controlled by its relativel positioned cam. and brake members normally disengaged from the respective threads when one or more of the latter are in normal knitting action. Con vcrsely, the mechanism acts automatically to release the tension from each of the inactive threads held under the binder device.

By means of my invention the device is also adapted to automatically take. up the slack of the respective active threads when the knitting-machine is being rotated in a rcciprocatory manner, as for. example during the knitting of'the high-splice split-foot heel and toe portions of the stocking.

In the accompanying sheet of drawings, Figure 1 represents a partial side elevation illustrating my improvement as applied to a rotary-cylinder type of hosiery knitting machine. only portions of the latter being shown; the position and relative arrange- Specification of Letters Patent.

rain. COMPANY. or CENTRAL FALLS, 'RHODE ISLAND, a 003.20-

Patented July 25, 1922.

1914. Serial No. 521,867.

mentof the parts correspond substantially with regular or normal circular knitting. Fig. 2 is a correspondino top plan view, some of the parts. however, being omitted. Fig. 3 is a detached front and elevation of the main bracket or base showing portions of my improved tension cont-rolling device. Fig. 4 is a partial side view of the take-up controlling means proper; in this figure one of the take-up members of the series is represented as temporarily engaging and yieldingly holding the active thread while itis being converted into stitches. the'cylinder (not shown in the figure) meanwhile moving in a reciprocatory manner; and Fig. 5 is a top lan view. in reduced scale, showing the late i-ring. thread binder, portions of the bobbin-stand rod, etc.

The drawings representimproved means for automatically. controlling the take-up and release of the individual knittingthreads at certain points in the knitting operation. whereby a more uniform degree of tension is imparted to the threads during the production of the knitted web.

The needle-cylinder N is or may be provided with the usual devices and accessories for producing knitted work and is further provided with a swinging latch-ring L hinged to a standard L; to the said member L. and angularly movable bodily with it. is attached a threaddiinder ti and cutter I, arranged centrally of the needle-cylinder.sce Fig. 5. I make no claim herewith to the cutter and binder-devices nor to means for operating them.

Positioned above the cylinder N is located a supported disk nprovidcd with a plurality of guide eyes e. through which eyes the sev-- eral knitting-threads I? extend downward to engage the said binder and needles in a well known way. The machine is provided with a horizontally mounted pattern or main camshaft 3 to which latter cams may be secured for actuating certain of the k itting devices; the rotary movements (1 the shaft being effected in a step-by-step or intermittcntmanner; one revolution of the shaft corresponding to the production of the knitted unit or stocking.

At the rear side of the machine is mounted a vertically extending bobbin stand rod R to which is secured the huh (I. of the upper take-up bracket A. the latter being in alinement with the lower bracket it, also adjust ably. fixed to the rod. The bracket A ex tends horizontally in front towardthe center itf the needle-cylinder and is provided at its tlQfroht end e 'wlth a'num'ber ofthrea'd-guideyes, e, four being represented, one for each of the said eyes 9 of the member n :below. 19: At the opposite end portion of bracket A ldarellocated in itsflange b a corresponding nuziiberof spaced eyes or guides e alining substantially with corresponding eyese, e

arra'n 'd to rece1ve'-the respective knittingthread: if

Ata

n ..leading'from the bobbins. P i ere vided i tli Qiihorizontally mounted transverse sh rt fixed to a member a of thebfacket, on w shaft a series of four ubs f are ,mounted for independent swing- 20 "ng movement, each J g-light, wire I nger F having its front; ltlOll f bent downwardly at .ubstanti V y right a les and terminating in "a guide-eye f. ach member has 8, I'GlLIWBI'd f a m to be en aged by the fronten d c of a Wei 0 tarm or ever 0 pivoted at bito said flange b the lever member 0 base downward exten- -sionc arranged when the lever-is unsupported by the part df, to drop from the lather by gravity an f thread t lying ontthe u per face a, thereby uoldin the thread in c eck and subjecting it to yiel ing tension while the cylinder is producing reciprocatory knitting. See corlll es'ponding position of parts represented in eans normally acting to relieve the tension from the inactive thread or threads are represented in the wrresponding position 40., shown in Fig. 1. That is to say, a series of four cams i (one onl being shown) are adjusta-bly secured to t e intermittingly movable cam-shaft or pattern-shaft 8 each cam having, say a plurality of suitably arranged concentric raised in i alternating with plain concentric peripheral depfi'assions 6; these surfaces of t e cams are in engagement with the outer front ends r of the respective actuator-levers D, pivoted to swing on a stud 7', fixed say to the frame of the machine. The rear end of each lever D is jointed to a wire rod h extending freely vertlcall therefrom through guide beari form in the bracket It and the hub 6 0 said bracket A, the latter positioned a distance above the member h. A light s ring it is interposed between the bracket and a collar h,

the latter beih g ad'usta'hly secured to the rod h by a set-screw whereby the degree f to the springs pressure may be varied as d sired; the normal action of the spring it operates to keep the end r of lever D in continuous 'ielding engagement with the said cam sur aces.

6.; To the upper portion of each rod It is ade eyes 0 the bracket: is pro rictionally engage its uniform, the

the auxiliary or brake mg cam z operates toinaintain the end 8 of the controller in engagement with the finger ,thereby locking the latter'in depressed position; the device acts to automatically swing the brake lever c upward to disengage its c amping portion 0 from the thread it, see Fig. It will be seen that the hub f of the thread-cafrrying finger F is yieldingly attached to a vertical spring-like connection is adjustably secured to the lower bracket h by means of-a screw ls. When, however, the lever D engages the depressed portion i of the cam the sprin -pressed rod h and its attached controller are caused to move upward, the movement at the same timeautomatically releasing the finger F and permitting spring lc to swing it upward also, this movement of the fin er acts to automatically release the lever c from flange f whereby the last named lever in fallin causes its portion a to engage and clamp tfi under. See corresponding position Fig. 4. The rods it have rectilinear movement and impose such movement upon the controller members B.

As thus constructed and arranged the tension or pull on the thread passing thro h the eye or guide 1 at the free end of t e swinging finger, when 'reciprocatory knitting 1s being produced, is practically even or device servi not onl to take up the slack portion of tie t during each reciprocatory stroke but also producing a more uniform degree of tension throughout the stitches of the courses of reciprocatory knitting.

. The bracket A may be vided at its front end with an auxiliary tension device H, of well-known construction, shown most clearly in Figs. 1 and 3, to which are attached a plurality of light, resilient vertical members m, through which latter freely pass pins or screws o having springs o pressing lightly against the said m the arrangement 13 are capable of passing with a slight d of resistance between the adjacent faces of the arts 1: and m, so as to be drawn smooth- 1y t erefrom through the guide-eyes f e and e to the needles. i

When plain circular knitting is being produced the active thread of the corresponding thread-carrying finger F is relieved of ressure imposed upon it (the active thread said finger then being in the depressed pasition by means of the correspondingly depressed position by means of the corres ondmgl depressed arm B, as indicated in igure 1 iiy full lines; at

additionally pro- 115 being such that the threads the same time the then inactive or idle threads of the other fingers of the series are caused tobe swung upwardly by the reaction of the spring connections In immediately following the release of the arms B from the fingers, thereby permitting the brake c to automatically engage the inactive threads and increase the tension upon them, and hold them ractically stationary. The dotted lines in Figure 1 indicate in general the position of the parts controlling said idle threads while the said active thread is being'knitted. In order'to more clearly represent the corres onding position of t a mechanism contro lin said idle threads the same is shown in the detached Figure 4.

When reciprocator knitting is to be roduced, as for examp e in forming the eel and toe portions of-a stocking, and also in high-splicing, certain of the came a are preadjusted to release the arm B from the fin er F carrying the active'knitting-thread, an havin the other fingers, with the then idle threa s threaded therein, temporarily held downward substantially asindicated by full lines in Figure 1. At each reciprocation of the needle-cylinder the excess thread or slack drawn off both in narrowing and widening is automatically taken up by the spring-connected swinging finger carrying the said active thread; the connection It serves to maintain a more uniform ressure or tension on the thread while at t e same time the action of the swinging finger acts to take up'the slack thread in a more uniform manner.-

It is tc,be observed that the usual means for feedin or introducing the active threads to the needles through the medium of yarns levers, as d, Figure 5, 'at the proper point are not necessarily altered or changed by the employment of the improvement, nor in fact are the functions of the binder arm 6 and thread-severing means d indicated in said Figure 5.

With the construction shown and described, the position of each of the several take-ups employed, and consequently of each of the tension devices controlled thereby, is independently determined or controlled. B reason of this fact a portion of said take-ups, one or more, may be in oqjerative position, while the remainder are eld in inoperative position. This is an important advantage, as for example in kmtting'what care of the two yarns being knit. In knitting the heel and toe of such stocking one or two other yarns may be and frequently are employed, and when the heel or tee is being knit the take-ups for these other yarns will be in operative position while the take ups for the two yarns employed in knitting the split foot may be held in inoperative position.

I claim:

A circular knitting machine having in combination a plurality of uides for a corresponding plurality of t reads, a corresponding pluralit of take-ups, and a corresponding lura ity of pivoted tension devices, one or each of said threads. each take-up and its corresponding tension device being structurally distinct and independentfrom all the other said take-ups and tension devices, and each pivoted tension device having a part to be en aged by the corresponding take-up, therefiy to render the same active or inactive, a cam shaft, means thereon having a corresponding plurality of cam elevations and depressions, said elevations and depressions controlling the position of the corres ndin take-up and tension device for c'ircu ar wor and the position of the take-ups and tension devices forreci rocating work, a corresponding plurality o levers adapted to engage said cam elevations and depressions respectively, link like members extending upwardly from said levers and having rectilinear movement, a controller member carried by each of said link like members and movable therewith, and a separate sprin to act on each controller member, each 0% said controller members being structural] free from but adapted periodically to li e brought into pushing contact with its take-up to depress the some and to release the corresponding tension device.

In testimony whereof I have afiixcd my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JOHN LAWSON. Witnesses:

Cnannas C. REMINGTON, Geo. H. Rsmnro'ron'. 

